Bjelovar Cathedral

The Cathedral of St Teresa of Ávila stands on the eastern side of Bjelovar’s main square, opposite the Preradović Barracks. It is a single-nave church with a late-Baroque façade articulated by pilasters and niches, while its 52-metre bell tower is a defining vertical feature of the townscape. Construction was completed in 1771 and the church was blessed on 15 October 1772; the Piarists also ran a school and college beside it. During nineteenth-century restoration, a Roman relief of Iphigenia in Tauris was incorporated into the portal. Pope Benedict XVI elevated the church to cathedral status in 2009. It is easily reached in Bjelovar’s central square.